It's official. We have entered the terrible and terrific twos. I have no idea how this is even possible. My sweet, dramatic, and passionate girl is two. #someoneholdme

In the last year, we have seen Elli grow leaps and bounds, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She has become the best big sister and I am just so proud of the way she's rocking and rolling her big sister status. She absolutely loves Abby. She greets her every morning with a "Hi, Sissy!" She rocks Abby in her car seat, gives her back her paci, and even tries to help burp her. She loves encouraging Abby during tummy time by laughing and saying "Go, Sissy, Go!" And obviously, she still calls Abby "Sissy," but on occasion, she's called her "Abby."

To celebrate Elli's second birthday, we decided to do the Minnie Mouse Bowtique Birthday theme. Elli loves Mickey and Minnie as well as her hair bows. (Which by the way, this transformed Southern girl LOVES that her daughter loves bows and girly things! The bigger the bow, the better the mama, right? Hah!)

I got on my computer and whipped up an invitation. (Pixelmator is my BFF when it comes to these things!) I kept it pretty simple and basic and this year, I just sent a text or FB message with a virtual invitation.

With the decorating, I was going starting to drive myself nuts with the decor. But then I realized, you know what, it doesn't matter! So I went pretty simple. I made a basic menu board and glued it on card stock, a little welcome sign, and put up Elli's most recent photo.

Also... yes, I did "freehand" the "Welcome to Elli's Bowtique" sign! Here's a hint! I printed the sign off on regular paper, then put it on top of the cardstock and traced over it with a pen. As I was tracing the words, I put enough pressure to put an indent on the cardstock. Once I finished, I filled in the outline with a permanent marker. I hope that makes sense! I will totally do a tutorial post if anyone is interested!

It's kind of a bummer we were completely backlit, but I told my brother, AKA the volun-told family event photographer that I didn't care and to take the picture anyways. Looking back, I wish we had gotten a better picture since this is one of the only ones we have together with our birthday girl. Also... I completely forgot I had sunglasses on my head!! And NO ONE told me they were still on! Hah!

We did pretty basic party favors... I saw something similar on Pinterest and to simplify, I just bought M&M's and tied them up to look like a bow. For the little girls, I bought little bows from One Stop Bow Shop as party favors. And since we had a little boy, I got him a little bowtie onesie so he wouldn't be left out. ;-)

For food, we ordered sandwiches from Newks and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. We also had lumpia, fruit, pumpkin bread, chips and salsa, and more. Again, thanks to Pinterest, I did name all the food by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters. Here are a few for your inspiration:

Minnie's Bowtie Pasta

Daisy's Garden Fruit

Chip and Dale's Chips and Salsa

Pluto's Pumpkin Bread

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Sandwiches

Clarabelle's Hot Diggity Dogs

Goofy's Burgers

My friend Donna made Elli's cake. Is it not the cutest cake ever!? I was so thrilled she could make it! And it was absolutely delish. The cake was made of chocolate fudge cake and white buttercream.

We had so much fun with our friends and family. And Elli had a blast! I'm so glad we were able to celebrate another year with our big girl.

It's crazy to see how much she's grown in the last year!!! Here's a side by side comparison of her 1st birthday and her 2nd! (And look how much hair she grew in that year!)

Blissful Southern Life

Hi, I'm Kaycee! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

So what's this blog all about anyways?

It's all about encouragement. You'll find chats on the highs and lows of faith. You'll read about the messiness of life as a wife and mother. You'll probably even see random lifestyle posts that just pop up every now and again. My mission is to combat negativity and be an encouragement to you! Join me on this new adventure of mine and let's be friends.

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